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# ‘Wake Up and Do Something’: Califf on Misinformation
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/wake-up-and-do-something-califf-on-misinformation/
- Published: 2024-02-08T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T14:22:34.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5156317

FDA commissioner **Robert Califf** says he wants the general public to feel despair about the growing problem of health misinformation and disinformation so they will “wake up and do something.” [Speaking](https://youtu.be/maePq-Ifguo?ref=fdaweb.com) at a George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs 2/6 presentation on “Responding to Mis- and Disinformation and Increasing Trust in Public Institutions,” Califf acknowledged the significant drop in trust in government agencies and communications and the increase in social media misinformation and disinformation.

Asked about the fact that there has been healthcare misinformation for several hundred years, Califf responded that what’s different today is that “someone with no expertise can reach billions of people.” He also pointed out that “there is a lot of money to be made by sowing distrust.”

The commissioner noted that courts are currently considering whether an agency like FDA should be able to give an informed, expert opinion or should be restricted to facts. But he pointed out that “giving boring, reliable information is not a way to reach people.” He said that while everyone can get access to information, not everyone can necessarily tell if the information they receive is reliable.

Califf cited the decline in health expectancy in the U.S. and decried the fact that the country leads industrialized countries in inventing new therapies, but lags behind other countries in making good use of them.